Waterlands

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SailfishRetention open

Cape · Florida

Bessey Creek Point

27.22°N · 80.29°W · Cape · Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 6 PM · Sailfish

73/100Great
Now
336 PM EDT
Best window
6-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score33Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 7 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast88% chance of rain
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Sailfish

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day (1 billfish combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 63 in, lower jaw fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Report landed billfish to NOAA within 24 hours. A federal HMS Angling Permit is needed in federal waters, not in state waters. Sailfish you plan to release may not be removed from the water in federal waters, or in state waters if you hold an HMS permit. 1 billfish per person per day. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Billfish, Tuna, and Swordfish, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sailfish is best here

Out of season for Sailfish · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks

Sailfish season by week of the year. Out of season for Sailfish · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Sailfish in Florida

Spot profile

Bessey Creek Point

Depth
6-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonSailfish

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Bessey Creek Point

Bessey Creek Point is a cape in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 6-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic tarpon, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for Atlantic tarpon, common snook, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for little tunny, black sea bass, gray triggerfish and red grouper. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Sailfish
Sailfish feed along reef edges and color changes, usually in 80 to 240 feet off Southeast Florida and farther out along the Gulf and Carolina shelf edge. Fly live goggle-eyes, pilchards or threadfins from kites, or slow-troll live ballyhoo, on non-offset circle hooks. In winter the best bite often comes the day or two after a cold front, when north wind stacks bait along the edge.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pendarvis Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70

    4 kt ENEH 9:41 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:32 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Jenkins Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70

    4 kt ENEH 9:26 PM · 1.1 ftL 4:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Dyer Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70

    4 kt ENEH 9:26 PM · 1.1 ftL 4:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Speedy Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70

    4 kt ENEH 9:26 PM · 1.1 ftL 4:34 AM · 0.6 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.